Feb. 26–A sleek, new boutique hotel, rising eight to 10 stories with about 150 rooms, will be built on a parking lot north of the old City Hall on Alabama Street as part of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment.

The old City Hall will serve as hotel lobby and public art gallery, said Adam Thies, director of the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development. It also could house several arts and community groups, although no agreements have been signed.

“We really are interested in this project becoming a symbol for Indianapolis as an arts and culture hub,” Thies said.

The project, scheduled for completion in late 2017 or early 2018, will be unveiled at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the rotunda of the old City Hall, at Alabama and Ohio streets.

The city will continue to own the old City Hall and will provide the building under a long-term lease to the hotel developer, a small specialty chain called 21c Museum Hotels LLC, based in Louisville, Ky.

Thies declined to say Wednesday how much will be spent on the project. Nor did he say what kind of incentives the city, state and federal governments plan to give 21c, saying that information would be released Thursday.

Stephanie Greene, a spokeswoman for 21c, declined Wednesday to give details or even confirm the project, referring questions to city officials. “The mayor’s office is handing this,” she said.

The Indianapolis Star reported last month that the city and 21c were in serious discussions on a project to renovate the old City Hall. The stately building, with an 85-foot-high stained-glass dome and grand staircases, has fallen into disrepair in recent years and is in need of millions of dollars worth of renovation.

It has been mostly empty since serving as interim Indianapolis Central Library from 2002 to 2007 while the main library underwent an expansion.

Under the plan, 21c will renovate the old building, return it to its former glory and fill it with modern artwork. The company operates three artsy, upscale hotels in Louisville, Cincinnati and Bentonville, Ark. It plans to open two other hotels this year in Durham, N.C., and Lexington, Ky.

The company typically buys historic downtown buildings and rehabilitates them into a combination of boutique hotels and contemporary art museums. The buildings usually have high ceilings, exposed brick walls and lots of high-impact visual contrast between the old architecture and the modern art.

The project would become the latest addition to the eastern side of Downtown. The area will soon be buzzing with construction for two projects on the old Market Square Arena site: a 28-story luxury apartment tower called 360 Market Square, anchored by a Whole Foods Market; and the Cummins office tower.

The city also plans to announce potential tenants for the old City Hall, which could include an arts program from the University of Indianapolis and the Central Indiana Community Foundation, Thies said. Those two institutions declined to comment Wednesday.

Call Star reporter John Russell at (317) 444-6283. Follow him on Twitter: @johnrussell99.